Easy Crafts To Do With Kids

Even for the most organised parents summer holidays are long and often too expensive to go away or keep children entertained. I have tried to put together a list of easy crafts to do with kids this summer.

Water gun painting (age 5+)

Most definitely something to do outside.

• Hang up some large pieces of paper on an easel, the washing line or on a wall in the back of the garden. You could use packaging materials, old boxes or large pieces of cardboard.
• Mix some washable paints with a little water to thin them out.
• Find as many different sized water guns as you can and load them up with different colours. They Crazy Store is a good place to buy these. You might want to invest in a cheap pack of small water pistols so that you can just dispose of these after all the fun.
• Make sure your children stand at least three feet away from the paper to avoid too much splashing.
• Fire away! They’re not going to be masterpieces but are great for seeing how the paint moves on the paper and any colour mixes.

If you don’t want to use paints, get your children to attempt ‘drawing’ a picture with their water guns on a brick or patio wall.

 

Make play dough (age 2+)

Most children love playing with play dough and it’s a brilliant activity for improving their fine motor skills and creativity. Branded products are expensive and dry out easily in the sun.

You can make your own at home really quickly.

• In a saucepan, stir together 1 cup of flour with 1 cup of water and add in 2 tsp cream of tartar, 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and 1/2 cup of fine table salt.
• Heat the mixture whilst you stir slowly until a dough forms. At this stage you can add in food colouring and glitter.
• Divide it up to make different colors. Leave the mixture to cool and then it’s ready to use.

It will keep in an airtight container for a week or so and is non toxic.

If it’s raining, or just need a nice calm break indoors, there are lots of easy crafts you can do.

1. Cut out an ice lolly shape, stick it onto a leftover lolly stick and decorate with glitter, stickers or paints
2. Cut out a long triangle ‘cone’ and plenty of different coloured ice cream balls, let your child choose their ‘flavours’. Flattened cupcake cases also make brilliant ice creams.
3. Print out some summer flowers, plants, insects or animals and help your child to cut them out and create a scene on piece of coloured  card

Easy crafts with your children don’t need to involve expensive materials or getting really messy. Try to create something from items you already have. Just spend time with your children and chat about the things you and your children enjoy about summer and go from there.

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